Murder of teen was ‘heinous and atrocious’
|Published
Durban — In sentencing 18-year Ryleigh Naidoo for the murder of Jayden Glazer, whom he stabbed at an arranged fistfight after school in 2022 in Ashley, Pinetown, the court said there was no excuse for what the child offender had done.
The two were pupils at Chosen Independent Studies where Glazer was in Grade 9 and Naidoo was in grade 10. Naidoo was 16 at the time while Glazer was 15.
Glazer’s last moments were captured on a cellphone camera as his friends made a video of what they had anticipated to be a fistfight between their two peers.
“Violence at schools has reached a high level …This was done in a cold calculated manner in terms of how it happened from video and your own testimony. It was a heinous and atrocious and cruel factor,” said magistrate L Gurie on Monday in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court.
She sentenced Naidoo to five years imprisonment, a sentence she said was to rehabilitate him and deter him from future violent behaviour.
“The court submits that the sentence that needs to be imposed must serve a public interest. The court submits that when it comes to murder it is indeed a very serious offence, therefore the punishment must fit the crime and the sentence must be done so with the element of mercy with the court considering the core function of punishment. The court must endeavour to ensure that all legal principles applicable are adhered to,” she said.
Since Naidoo was a minor at the time the offence was committed, he was sentenced as such in accordance with the Child Justice Act.
According to the act, sentences should encourage the child to understand the seriousness of the crime, and promote reintegration of the child into the family and community; and imprisonment should be the last resort and if considered, for a short period.
“According to the video he (Glazer) was unarmed. You thought he was, but in your testimony you said you did not see a weapon. Your murder of Jayden has had a devastating impact on his family, no sentence can begin to alleviate this. You see yourself as a victim in this situation, you are not. There is no excuse for what you did, the court does not yet believe you are at the stage of accepting or acknowledging what you did in full,” said Gurie.
She said before sentencing she had considered mitigating factors, which were that Naidoo was a first offender and he was a minor, as well as the aggravating circumstances placed before the court by the State, where Glazer’s mother testified on the impact the murder had on her family.
Gurie also said Naidoo's actions of walking away and leaving a wounded Glazer at the scene and then cleaning the murder weapon and placing it back in the kitchen drawer were telling of his lack of remorse.
Naidoo broke down, falling back onto the bench in the dock after he was sentenced.
Outside, Glazer’s mother, Jorina Pretorius, said she agreed with Gurie on everything she said in sentencing.
“I have closure now, I can use these five years to grieve. Justice has finally been served.”
Glazer’s father, Alan Glazer, said five years was too little: “He’ll get out sooner with good behaviour, to take a life like it's nothing especially with a video of the whole incident. It still breaks my heart today, two years on and our family is still devastated. My older son Chad doesn't go out anymore since this happened, five years is nothing for a murderer. To plunge a Shogun knife into a boy is heartless.”
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